Mark Galli

Mark Galli (b. August 24, 1952)^[1] is an American Roman Catholic author and editor, and former Protestant minister. For seven years he was editor in chief of Christianity Today.

Biography

Galli, a native of California, was raised as a Roman Catholic, but became a born-again Evangelical at the age of thirteen. He subsequently graduated at the University of California at Santa Cruz and received a M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary.^[2] He was a Presbyterian pastor for ten years, but later converted to Evangelical Anglicanism, joining the Episcopal Church and moving to the Anglican Church in North America in 2009.^[2][3]

Moving into journalism, he was the associate editor of Leadership and editor of Christian History, a sister publication of Christianity Today.^[2] For the next 20 years he worked for Christianity Today in various capacities, including seven years as editor in chief. In October 2019 he announced he would retire effective January 3, 2020.^[4]

He wrote books and editorials about the nature of the Evangelical faith, including how belief relates to political activity.^[5][6][7] In 2011, Roger E. Olson, a theologian specializing in Christian ethics, described Galli as, "a serious evangelical scholar with an irenic approach to controversial material",^[8] that being defined as favoring and operating toward peace, moderation, or conciliation.^[9]

In 2020, Galli announced that he had rejoined the Catholic Church.^[10][11]

Controversies

On December 19, 2019, a day after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to file two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, Galli wrote an editorial entitled, "Trump Should Be Removed from Office."^[12] The publication noted that the criticisms of Trump were consistent with the magazine's approach to the impeachment proceedings of presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.^[13]

On 15 March 2022, Christianity Today published a series of articles denouncing “demeaning, inappropriate, and offensive behavior” by Galli during his tenure as editor of the magazine.^[14] Speaking to Religion News Service, Galli admitted that he may have “crossed lines” during his time as editor, but denied having had “any romantic or sexual interest in anyone at Christianity Today.”^[15]

Rod Dreher wrote in The American Conservative that Christianity Today's investigation on Galli raises great concerns. In his article Dreher quotes the views of others that Galli has been victimized by a shallow attempt at justice. "Due process involves presumption of innocence, right to face your accuser, opportunity to mount a defense, rules of evidence, witnesses, etc."^[16]

Books

• With Craig Brian Larson, Preaching that Connects, Zondervan, 1994, ISBN 978-0-31038621-6
• With James Stuart Bell Jr., The Complete Idiot's Guide to Prayer, Alpha Books, 1st ed. 1999 ISBN 978-0-02863108-0; 2nd ed. 2004, ISBN 978-1-59257245-8
• With Ted Olsen, 131 Christians Everyone Should Know, Broadman & Holman, 2000 ISBN 978-0-80549040-4
• Francis of Assisi and His World, InterVarsity Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-83082354-3
• Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God, Baker Publishing Group, 2006, ISBN 978-080101284-6^[17]
• Beyond Smells and Bells: The Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy, Paraclete Press, 2008, ISBN 978-1-55725521-1^[18]
• God Wins: Heaven, Hell, and Why the Good News Is Better than Love Wins, Tyndale, July, 2011. ISBN 978-141436666-1^[5] The Christian Post described God Wins as a "response" to pastor Rob Bell's book Love Wins.^[19][20]
• Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit, Baker Publishing Group, October 2011, ISBN 978-0-80101350-8^[21][22]
• Karl Barth: An Introductory Biography for Evangelicals, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2017, ISBN 978-0-80286939-5^[5]
• With All The Saints. My Journey to the Roman Catholic Church, Word on Fire, 2022, ISBN 978-1-94324399-0^[23]

References

1. "Library of Congress Authority Record: Galli, Mark". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
2. "Bio". Mark Galli. Mark Galli.
3. Wfel (November 14, 2020). "Mark Galli describes himself as an evangelical Catholic". Medium. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
4. Olsen, Ted (October 7, 2019). "Mark Galli Announces Retirement as Editor in Chief of Christianity Today". Christianity Today. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
5. Carrigan, Henry (July 20, 2011). "Mark Galli: A Fuller, Richer God (Interview)". Publishers Weekly.
6. Lupfer, Jacob (June 10, 2015). "Why a 'yes' to gays is often a 'no' to evangelicalism". Washington Post. RNS. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
7. Kwan, Lillian (November 21, 2010). "Texas Pastor Leads Evangelicals to Shake Off Isolationism". Christian Post. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
8. Olson, Roger E. (July 7, 2011). "A good new book responding to Bell's Love Wins". Patheos. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
9. “Irenic.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irenic. Accessed 25 December 2019.
10. "Mark Galli, former Christianity Today editor and Trump critic, to be confirmed a Catholic". Religion News Service. September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
11. Galli, Mark. ""With All the Saints: My Journey to the Roman Catholic Church" by Mark Galli". books.wordonfire.org. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
12. Galli, Mark (December 19, 2019). "Trump Should Be Removed from Office". Christianity Today. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
13. Chappell, Bill (December 20, 2019). "Calling Trump 'Morally Lost,' 'Christianity Today' Editor Calls For His Removal". NPR. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
14. "Sexual Harassment Went Unchecked at Christianity Today". Christianity Today. March 15, 2022.
15. RELEVANT (March 16, 2022). "A Former Christianity Today Editor Has Been Accused of Sexual Harassment". Relevant.
16. Dreher, Rod (March 18, 2022). "More On The Mark Galli Affair". The American Conservative.
17. "Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
18. "Beyond Smells and Bells: The Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
19. Menzie, Nicola (September 25, 2011). "'Love Wins' Author Rob Bell Tells Mars Hill His Departure Is 'No Surprise'". Christian Post. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
20. Menzie, Nicola (November 19, 2013). "Rob Bell's 'Love Wins' Nudged 1,000 People to Leave Mars Hill Bible Church, Says Michigan Megachurch Successor". Christian Post. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
21. Everett, Stuart James (2011). "Mark Galli "Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit"". Union Seminary Quarterly Review. 64 (1). Retrieved June 11, 2015.
22. "Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
23. Galli, Mark (2022). With All the Saints: My Journey to the Roman Catholic Church. Word On Fire. ISBN 978-1-943243-99-0.

Further reading

• Beverley, James (2020). Evangelical Civil War: Mark Galli, Christianity Today, and Donald Trump. Equal Time Books. ISBN 978-1-58502-0737.